Nobody reads long copy anymore (Or do they?)

How to piss off a copywriter in 5 words or less.

Say, “Nobody reads long copy anymore” when judging copy.

Then add the classic, "Make it shorter and punchier". 

In 2023 saying “Nobody reads long copy anymore”, and “ Make it shorter. Because short copy is better than long copy” sounds like common sense.

But the truth is, it misses the point.

A couple of months ago I was watching a life interview with Miguel Sousa Tavares.

Miguel is a famous Portuguese journalist, writer and political commentator. He’s also an avid traveler and loves the Desert.

In the middle of the interview Miguel said something really interesting.

The interviewer asks him, “You never waste words, do you?”

Miguel replies, “I respect words. Quoting a chat I once had in the Desert with a Tuareg...I asked him why do Tuaregs talk very little".

Then Miguel adds, “the Tuareg says, Because after saying what’s essential, everything else is a waste. And in the Desert we are used to save everything.”

And to conclude Miguel says, “And while it’s true I write words for a living, I’m very scared of wasting words.”

The truth is, good copywriters think the same way.

As Ad legend David Abbott once said about the long copy versus short copy debate:

"A specious issue. I've never sat down to write a long piece of copy. I sit down to try to sell something. The real rule is say what you have to say and stop when you're finished. End of argument."

One way to sell something is to make product facts come alive.

And a very impactful way of making product facts come alive is to use sensory imagery.

Because when you use your senses in copy, you amplify your voice.

So the more senses you use, the more engaging, interesting and real you copy sounds.

For example, imagine you’re the UK Ministry of Transport. And you want to communicate that on gloomy days drivers MUST turn on the headlights, otherwise they can be fined up to £100.

You could show a photo of a car driving in the dark, gloomy countryside...AND say in your headline:

“In poor daylight, use headlights OR you’ll be fined”.

OR “In conditions of daytime fog, falling snow, heavy rain or poor daylight, use headlights. It’s the law.”

Even better: you can use sensory imagery. And say, “To make this car disappear put your fingers over its headlights”.

Sensory words make your facts instantly come alive in the minds of your readers. Which means you’re one step closer to reframe or reaffirm your BIG idea in people's minds.

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》”Dangerous” Ideas

1/ The more senses you use, the more engaging, interesting and real you copy sounds.

UK Ministry of Transport ad. 1974

2/ Using real product facts is good. Dramatizing facts and making them interesting is even better.

Miguel Ferreira @_miguelferreira

"If you see the signs, you are probably hungry." 🍔🍟 Clever outdoor ad campaign created by DDB, Greece for McDonald’s.

3/ Make the copy talk about the reader’s experience of reading your copy.

When writing copy, try breaking the fourth wall. Imagine a specific person sitting in front of you at a party. Write to that person, not to abstract concepts like "target audience" or "website visitors".

California Tourism print ad. By Cabell Harris

PS. Want to learn how to write copy far more believable, more vivid, more persuasive than anything ChatGPT puts out?

(Don’t tell anyone. But you can save $50 on a lifetime snackablecopytips.com membership. Enter code “snack50” on checkout).

Your pal,

Miguel Ferreira

🚀Founder & Chief Copywriter: Teardwn ↬ “Hire me to give voltage to your website copy”
💌 Newsletter: Creative Samba
🏂 Side projects: 💭 Snackable Copy Tips + 👀 Great Landing Page Copy + ✍️ Copy Ipsum +  🎧  Chill Music Club + ⚽ Dream Football Jobs

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